What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1448331
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette G rowing up in a mostly white suburb of Kansas City, Mo., Kinya Christian thought she fit in — until second grade. That's when classmates started verbalizing that she was different; she was Black. By middle school, she says, her white friends caught the backlash too; they were called "wiggers" — whites hanging out with an ugly word often used to demean African-Americans. Christian says her heritage includes "Black African, Caucasian European, Native American — but when people see me they see a Black woman." "I avoid using the term African-American as a blanket term for Black people," she explains. "Some Black people prefer to be referred to more specifically, as Jamaican- Americans or West Indians. The term African-American could apply to a white person who was born and raised in Africa and then migrated to the U.S. It may be important to distinguish between groups of African-Americans who are descended from African slaves, and those who are recent, voluntary immigrants to the U.S. And as referred to in The 1619 Project, even the freed men who spoke with Abraham Lincoln in 1865 said of themselves: 'This is our home… Beneath its sod lie the bones of our fathers… Here we were born, and here we will die.' So, I consider myself a Black American." Christian is also an artist, and a couple of years ago, she was inspired to say more about race relations through her art after learning about the 1619 Project — an ongoing initiative by the New York Times that "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative." In 2020, Christian hosted her first Black History Month exhibit, "Reflections of the Black Experience." It was shown first at the Rogers Experimental House, then moved to the Rogers Historical Museum — just in time for covid-19 to close everything down. Undeterred, Serena Barnett, then the newly named director of the museum, held on to the exhibition until the museum reopened in September 2020, making it a rare example of contemporary art in a history museum. "The Trammel Gallery provides us with a flexible space within the museum galleries that can be used for temporary exhibits, such as the 'Reflections of the Black Experience,' and special events," Barnett said at the time. "We cannot change our history, but we can certainly learn from it. Educating ourselves on where we've come from FEBRUARY 6-12, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 3 FAQ 'Reflections of the Black Experience' WHEN — An art and wine reception takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. today, Feb. 6; the exhibit contin- ues through March 12 WHERE — Into+View Gallery, 300 N. Second St., Suite A, in Rogers COST — Free; artwork is for sale INFO — Register for the reception at intoviewgallery.com FYI — An additional portion of the exhibit will debut from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Rogers Experimental House as part of Art on the Bricks. See Reflections Page 4 COVER STORY Reflections On Race Art exhibit illuminates Black experience This painting by Christian is titled "Woman VIII." (Courtesy Image/Kinya Christian) Kinya Christian says her heritage includes "Black African, Caucasian European, Native American — but when people see me they see a Black woman." This painting is titled "Woman VII." (Courtesy Image/Kinya Christian)